Rant & Rave: Tattered Cover

Deck

Right around 3 p.m. each day, I get a hankering for a pick-me-up. That usually translates into a cookie—and when I'm downtown, that means a hamantaschen from the Tattered Cover Book Store. Over the years, I've eaten dozens upon dozens of these triangular, preserves-filled cookies (the apricot flavor are my favorite). Although the treats are usually eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim, the Tattered Cover stocks them year-round for fanatics like me. But all this time, I've been fooled into thinking the cookies were made by a local bakery. Instead, the bookstore sources them from a California company. True, the hamantaschen are excellent—buttery, crumbly, and addictive, but for a store that so ardently pushes local, local, local, this California import came as a surprise. —Amanda F. Faison

Rave: We forgive you.

Our food editor isn't the only 5280 staffer who is obsessed with the Tattered Cover's hamantaschen. And I was bummed to learn that the cookies weren't locally produced—but not enough to stop ordering those addictive treats. Whenever I buy one of these concoctions, I like to wander through the store—just to see if there is another book I need to buy. More often than not, I drift over to the shelves that feature staff recommendations. Just as frequently, I find a tome that I must take home. Sure, high-end fashion stores have personal shoppers, but for a bibliophile like me, these picks are better than anyone telling me which jeans would fit my body perfectly. The Tattered Cover staffers get books, and their picks never disappoint. —Natasha Gardner